In Malaysia, especially in the Johor state, bak kut teh is available in almost every of the corner at anytime. This favorite dish of Malaysians usually being served in food courts and restaurants as breakfast, lunch, dinner and even supper.
Literally translated as Pork Bone Tea, bak kut teh is actually a Hokkien dialect. It was first introduced to Malaysia during the 19th century by the Chinese coolies and Hokkien workers. Bak kut teh is reported as a supplement that meager dietary menu of these port coolies and as a tonic to improve their health.
Did you know that actually there are three different versions of bak kut teh available in Malaysia – Teochew, Cantonese and Hokkien?
- Teochew style bak kut teh has a clearer broth, but it is prepared with more amount of papper and garlic.
- Cantonese style bak kut teh has a stronger herbal broth flavor as it uses heavy amount of medical herbs in the soup. It is due to the soup drinking culture of theirs.
- Hokkien style bak kut teh is slightly darker in its appearance as it is prepared with varieties of herbs and soy sauce. This bak kut teh has the strongest flavors among the three types of bak kut teh too.
There are a lot of eateries and restaurants available in Kluang that offers great bak kut tehs too. Each of these restaurants do own their traditional or own-inspired bak kut teh recipe that might surprise you both in flavor and also texture. Below will be lists of popular bak kut teh restaurant recommended by SGMYTRIPS.
Popular Bak Kut Teh Restaurant You Must Try In Kluang
- Kim Hock Food Court (金福肉骨茶)
- Restoran Ket Lee (吉利正宗肉骨茶)
- Restoran Teoh Heng (潮兴肉骨茶)
- Sin Siang Kee (新香记肉骨茶)
- Kluang Baru Food Court (新居銮美食中心)
- 哥打丁宜肉骨茶
1.Kim Hock Food Court (金福肉骨茶)
Operate since year 2012, Kim Hock Food Court’s bak kut teh is believed to serve the local and foreign communities with great bak kut teh which will make them coming back for more.
Kim Hock Food Court serves both dried bak kut teh and soup bak kut teh in their bak kut teh menu. Their dried bak kut teh taste totally different from the soup bak kut teh. This dry version of bak kut teh is more flavorful as it is prepared with additional ingredients such as dried chilies, dried squid and also dark soy sauce.
These are the reason why their dried bak kut teh is tangier and has a sharper taste when compared to the soup bak kut teh. Using only pork ribs, pork belly and also soft bones, Kim Hock Food Court’s dried bak kut teh is able to satisfy every foodies’ cravings for meaty food. These meats are also pre- cooked in the bak kut teh soup to offer an extra aroma to the meat.
For their bak kut teh in soup, it has a strong herbal flavor despite the clear, translucent looking broth. Upon serving, you surely will be able to smell the distinct evocative herbal scent that pervades in the air. Kim Hock Food Court’s bak kut teh is cooked and served in a clay pot, it is best eaten hot with plain rice or yee mee.
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For the meat, the meat portion is just right and consists of different cuts of pork meat. These meat infused with all the flavors from the bak kut teh broth and they do have a soft, tender texture that might just melts in your mouth. Generous amount of toppings such as dried tofu pieces, needle mushrooms, fishballs, tau pok and fresh lettuce leaves are served along in their bowl of bak kut teh too.
Not to mention the fragrance yam rice they serve along with their bak kut teh. They are serving savory yam rice instead of the ordinary white rice. This special rice menu has strong fragrance of sesame oil, fried onions, yam bits and it is slightly oily in texture too.
Besides bak kut teh, Kim Hock Food Court also serves their customers with some common Chinese home cook dishes and also complimentary bak kut teh’s side dishes too. To name a few, there are salted vegetables, braised egg, braised tofu, steamed tofu, you tiao and also ‘you mai’.
Additional Information:
Address: 5, Jalan Ungku Mohd Salleh, Taman Kluang Baru, 86000 Kluang, Johor
Business Hours: Daily, 6:00AM – 2:30PM
Contact No.: +6017-754 0487
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2.Restoran Ket Lee (吉利正宗肉骨茶)
Whenever talks about the best bak kut teh in Kluang, almost all of the locals living there would recommend Restoran Ket Lee. They have strong believes that this restaursnt do serves the best bak kut teh in Kluang.
This Bak Kut Teh restaurant is operated by a retired man, Mr. Chan Ket Lee, who has passion in food. He intended to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a culinary chef, offering every of his diners with his best Bak Kut Teh.
Upon arriving at Restoran Ket Lee, it is a must for you to order their Dry Bak Kut Teh. Their Dry Bak Kut Teh is cooked in a hot boiling Bak Kut Teh broth first before being fried along with fragrant aromatics in order for its natural flavors to be brought out. The complimentary fragrance aromatics used in preparing Restoran Ket Lee’s Dried Bak Kut Teh are dried chilies, sliced dried cuttlefish, palm sugar and also the thick dark soy sauce.
The purpose for Restoran Ket Lee to add palm sugar into their Dried Bak Kut Teh not just improved the taste of the Bak Kut Teh, but also its appearance as well. The caramelized palm sugar offer the Dried Bak Kut Teh with a darker, shinier appearance that looks really appetizing.
This Dried Bak Kut Teh of theirs is tender and flavorful, but you need to get ready for the after-while spicy kick due to the dried chilies used during the preparation process.
For their Bak Kut Teh in Soup, it does have a darker colored broth which is strong in herbal flavor. It is prepared with generous amount of Chinese medical herbs that benefits the body health.
The broth of their bak kut teh is relatively sweet, while the pork ribs and pork meat chunks are really tender. You even can taste the natural sweetness of the pork in every bite, along with the herbal aroma too. If pork are not your liking, you may request for a change to chicken meat Bak Kut Teh. Best eaten while still hot, with some yam rice or white rice.
Restoran Ket Lee only offers their signature dish, the Braised Pork Knuckles on every Friday. This Braised Pork Knuckles of theirs have balanced flavor of savory and sweetness, with dashes of sourness due to the vinegar used during the preparation process.
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On the other hand, the braised pork knuckles are moist, tender and flavorful.Braised into perfection, Restoran Ket Lee’s Braised Pork Knuckles’s skin and meat would just fall once you lift the bones. Its rich saturated fats will also melt in your mouth upon every bite too.
Do remember to arrive earlier at Restoran Ket Lee if you would like to have a taste at their Bak Kut Teh as they only offer limited amount of Bak Kut Teh everyday.
Additional Information:
Address: Kluang Town Jalan Swee Sin, Kluang Baru, Johor, 86000, Malaysia
3.Restoran Teoh Heng (潮兴肉骨茶)
Whenever you are visiting Kluang, it is a must for you to visit Restoran Teoh Heng due to their famous Bak Kut Teh in Soup and Dried Bak Kut Teh. All Bak Kut Teh menus of theirs are prepared early in the morning in order to ensure the freshness and also quality. Every sip of their Bak Kut Teh Soup never fails anyone since their operation.
The Bak Kut Teh Soup of Restoran Teoh Heng is best eaten while still hot, with some plain white rice, but best with yam rice. This hearty soup of theirs is prepared with pork ribs, pork chunks, pork tribes and also pork innards.
Simmered and slow cooked in a herbal flavored soup, it does offer these pork some flavorful Chinese herbs flavor and getting rid of the gammy smell of the pork. Nothing is more better than the Bak Kut Teh of Restoran Teoh Heng’s fall-off-the-bones pork ribs, every bite of the pork ribs is heavenly satisfying where the meat is still tender.
Upon ordering their Bak Kut Teh in soup, it is a must to ask for the complimentary you tiao and dried tau kwa. Both of these crispy side dishes will absorb the aromatic herbal-infused Bak Kut Teh broth, then provide the diners with great combination in taste and flavors in every bite.
If white rice and yam rice are not your preferences, then you may request for a change to noodles. Restoran Teoh Heng also provided varieties of noodles such as the laksa rice noodles and yee mee to pair with the hot Bak Kut Teh Soup.
Besides that, Restoran Teoh Heng also offers their customers with delicious dishes such as the salted vegetables, yam rice, braised pork totters, braised dried tofu and also braised eggs which are also worth for a try.
Additional Information:
Address: 53 Jalan Lim Swee Sim, Kluang Baru, 86000 Kluang, Johor
Business Hours: 7:00AM – 3:00PM
Contact No.: +6-016-754-4932
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4.Sin Siang Kee (新香记肉骨茶)
Sin Siang Kee is always humming with the locals and also tourists from all over Malaysia throughout their operating hours. This restaurant is popular with its Bak Kut Teh in Soup that is improved to suit the local’s preferences. In order to enjoy a bowl of Bak Kut Teh of theirs, do remember to make an appointment or go there earlier as you can hardly to obtain a seat after 11:00AM.
Their Bak Kut Teh Soup has a slightly clearer broth, but it still retaining the strong herbal flavor. Sin Siang Kee Restaurant’s Bak Kut Teh is not overly sweet nor savory, it is best to paired with some you tiao. The delicious and crispy you tiao will absorb the herbal soup like a sponge, enabling the diners to enjoy both of the you tiao and Bak Kut Teh Soup at the same time.
For the pork chunks and pork’s tripe broiled along the Bak Kut Teh Soup, it does absorb the flavor and aroma of the herbs, providing the plain pork meat with an additional herbal sweetness. These pork chunks and pork tribes are cooked into perfection where the texture is still soft and tender.
Additional Information:
Address: Jalan Dato Sulaiman Mohd Noor, Taman Kluang Baru, 86000 Kluang, Johor, Malaysia.
Business Hours:
Monday to Friday: 7:30am – 2:00pm
Closed on: Saturday, Sunday
Also Read : Top 10 Bak Kut Teh In Johor Bahru
5.Kluang Baru Food Court (新居銮美食中心)
Searching for some cheap but delicious Bak Kut Teh? Then it is a must for you to head to the Kluang Baru Food Court. There is a stall that serves great Dried Bak Kut Teh and Bak Kut Teh in Soup available in this food court.
Their Bak Kut Teh menus have a clearer and lighter flavor and taste which is suitable for foodies who would like something light.
If Bak Kut Teh are not your dish of your day, you may have a look at other stalls in the food court which sell wide varieties of delicacies. There is always something for anyone who visit Kluang Baru Food Court. So, need not to be worried that you will left Kluang with an empty stomach.
Additional Information:
Address: 29, Jalan Ungku Mohd Salleh, Taman Kluang Baru, 86000 Kluang, Johor
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6.哥打丁宜肉骨茶
Missed the taste of Kota Tinggi while you are having outstation or holiday at Kluang? Need not to be too worried anymore. Now, you can enjoy Kota Tinggi style Bak Kut Teh at 哥打丁宜肉骨茶.
This Bak Kut Teh restaurant serve their customers with delicious Bak Kut Teh just like in Kota Tinggi, in generous amount and flavorful broth. The owner of the restaurant are proud to mention that their Bak Kut Teh recipe is obtained from his father, who is also a 30 years Bak Kut Teh restaurant owner in Kota Tinggi.
哥打丁宜肉骨茶’s Bak Kut Teh in Soup is prepared with more than ten types of Chinese herbs, making the broth base to taste sweet savory at the same time. It is then broiled along with various parts of the pork such as pork belly, pork innards, pork tripe, pork chunks and also pork ribs to offer these proteins a flavorful herb flavor. Each pieces of these pork parts are slow cooked until really tender, where its meat will just separated from the bones upon lifting the bones.
Their Bak Kut Teh in soup is best paired with Fragrant Yam Rice and also crispy you tiao. Besides just Bak Kut Teh in soup, 哥打丁宜肉骨茶 also offers their customers with other delicacies like Bittergourd Soup ad Seaweed Soup. These two simple dishes are great as ac companion with white rice too.
Additional Information:
Address:50, Jalan Mersing, 86000 Kluang, Johor
Operating Hours: 7:00AM – 1:30 PM (Close on Tuesday)